Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 23rd Question:There is passion on the court – former national player Lv Xiaoming joins the youth training to continue the love of basketball
Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jingyu
“It’s been 6 months since my Achilles tendon was broken, and I’ve played 5 games since I recovered.” Lv Xiaoming told reporters on the phone, “As long as I get to the court, I’m very passionate. It’s just love, basketball is in my life. is very important.”
Lv Xiaoming, who was born in 1979, used to be a famous defender in the CBA. With a height of only 1.76 meters, he became the assists leader of the CBA league for three consecutive seasons, and was also selected for the Chinese men’s basketball team. In 2015, when he bid farewell to his professional football career, his heart was empty.
“When I first retired, I was very disappointed.” Lu Xiaoming said, “From 1989 to 2015, I played for 26 years, and there was a lot of reluctance when I said goodbye.”
After he retired, Xiamen Siming District invited him to catch youth basketball. At the beginning, Lu Xiaoming was a little unwilling, and felt that he might play for another two years. Moreover, although he is like a duck in water on the field, he is not good at teaching children. After 4 years of exploration, he really completed the transition from a retired player to a youth coach.
“From 2015 to 2019, I really didn’t know how to teach, and I have been researching how to teach children what I used to play, from theory to practice, and tell them what to do. It was in 2019 that I formed I developed my own training system. I was very involved in the research process because I might play basketball in different ways and I also found it fun.”
In China, there are not many professional players who do youth training following retiring, but it is rare to see people like Lu Xiaoming who are well-known and have strong basic skills who are willing to go off the court, demonstrate and guide. At the end of last year, Lv Xiaoming ruptured his Achilles tendon during a teaching session. A week following the operation, he used crutches to guide the trainees. It’s been almost half a year since the injury, and Lv Xiaoming has resumed his rhythm of training every day and playing three or four games a week.
“I once told myself that if I can’t demonstrate, I won’t teach the ball.” Lu Xiaoming said, “It’s different now. When we were young, we had no reference to practice ball, and many times we had to think for ourselves. Now the online video There are many, but teenagers have become ‘lazy’, imitating more and thinking less. Why do I have to demonstrate? It is to tell the students why the movements are done and how to exert force on their feet, so that they can understand the movements more thoroughly.”
Paying attention to basic skills, knowing the truth, but also knowing the reason, this is an important concept of Lu Xiaoming’s youth training. He demands that from his students, but also from his team’s coaches. Lu Xiaoming said that he has been learning and thinking in the process of teaching, and the youth training in Japan, South Korea and Europe are all his reference objects. There are new videos, new physical and footwork training methods on the Internet, and he will also incorporate them into his training following researching and groping.
“There is no absolute right or wrong in basketball training. The most important thing is fit. The tradition of ‘three from one big’ cannot be lost, especially starting from actual combat. Now some new training methods are also worth studying and absorbing. My coaching team every week I have to train with me, and I ask them to explain why they do it in every movement. If he can do that, it means he has really studied. I can’t say how good my system is, but we have been studying it.”
Lv Xiaoming said frankly that in the past few years he has been engaged in the youth training industry, he has seen that the market is getting hotter and more children are playing, but there are also some impetuous phenomena in the industry. For example, in order to expand its influence and facilitate enrollment, some institutions often “borrow people” to participate in competitions, and Lv Xiaoming’s students were once “borrowed”.
“There are many commercial competitions now. Competitions should be used to test the results of training. For the sake of immediate results, borrowing people to play games, what is the training value of the competition? Basketball is life, training and competition. Training tests the attitude of life, and competition tests the attitude of training. , should be in an orbit.”
Lv Xiaoming believes that the cultivation of basic basketball skills for teenagers is more important. Letting children set positions and play tactics prematurely does more harm than good. He hopes that more parents can understand what professional basketball training is like. In addition, the Chinese Basketball Association should establish a clear system for youth training, so that practitioners and parents know what and how children of each age group should practice.
“Elementary school to junior high school is the most important time to develop the technical foundation, and it will be too late to make up for it in high school. The basis of tactics is personal ability. Only with solid basic skills can you apply it flexibly in the game, and then cultivate the overall situation in high school. Basketball in Europe and America In high school or even college, tactics are emphasized. When I was young, I had to fight defense and dare to dribble the ball. When I was young, I should put skills in the children’s skill bag, instead of emphasizing too much on the body and tactics. The essence of education is not inheritance. It’s inspiration and awakening. Basketball is not a simple physical exercise, it’s an intellectual game.”
From the sports school in Yantai, the Shandong youth team, the national youth team to the CBA league, Lv Xiaoming’s basketball road has not been smooth. Because of his “short stature”, he has experienced “wandering” years. However, in his view, God is fair and everything is the result of perseverance.
“I have gone through too many ups and downs and tribulations, and now I am reluctant to give up because I know that this basketball road is not easy and I cherish it. When I was young, others rested for me to train. At night, the lights in the arena went out, so I went to practice dribbling. When I was young, I had blood in my urine for a week, and I didn’t take a day off. Although it was hard, I just wanted to play.”
In recent years, Lv Xiaoming has become famous in Xiamen’s youth training camp. In Xiamen, there are hundreds of students ranging from kindergarten to primary and middle school age, and 5 coaches are in charge of training. In addition, there are nearly 20 basketball teenagers from all over the country, the youngest is 8 or 9 years old, and the older is 12 or 13 years old. Lv Xiaoming takes them to practice twice a day. During the CBA offseason, there were also CBA players who came to train with him specially.
Lv Xiaoming said that although training was tiring, he was tired and happy. It turned out that he was thinking regarding whether he might stick to the age of 50, but now it should not be a problem. What will he do if he can’t demonstrate or teach football in the future?
“I don’t dare to think regarding it now, I have never dared to think regarding it. It’s hard to let go, I cherish it, and I hope to have more time to stay on the court.” Lu Xiaoming said.
